Culture:Envy:War
Youngblood Brass Band Lyrics

Culture envy culture war
The constant desire for and competition over cultural superiority

Count your dead
Take account of the casualties and losses

Kill your poor
Neglect and exploit the disadvantaged and vulnerable

What are you looking to find here?
What is your ultimate goal or intention?

Absolution, attainment
Seeking forgiveness and achievement

Atonement, justification
Making amends and providing reasons for actions

All priced to move you
Offering enticing deals to manipulate and influence

(Standing like it's action)
Presenting oneself as active or engaged while lacking substance

Bide time with brought rhymes
Passing time with rehearsed lyrics

High five to nine for naught
Celebrating insignificant achievements

Joke with misdirected lies
Engage in deceptive humor and falsehoods

Who the fuck aren't you kidding
You are not fooling anyone

I knew you back in school when there were less actors to look up to
I remember you from a time when there were fewer people pretending to be someone else

Studying simplicity
Learning from basic and straightforward concepts

We still meant the laughter
We genuinely enjoyed the joy and humor

If you could love yourself the way you do them
If you treated yourself with the same level of care and respect as you treat others

There'd be life after
You would experience fulfillment and happiness

The playwrights lowered their guns
The creators abandoned their harmful intentions

There's peace pieces to up again
There is a chance to rebuild and restore peace

You used to build
You had the ability to construct and create

Mind your pen
Be conscious of the power of your words

Remind your pen
Prompt your writing instrument to remember its purpose

I'm sick of the video you've rewound us in
I am tired of being trapped in the repeating cycle you have created

The headaches: still shots taken in sequence
The problems and challenges we face are captured in stagnant moments

Hung over old dreams to dry and develop moldy cultures
Preserved outdated dreams that result in stagnant and decaying cultures

Still; all this sun and you're sleeping in the dark room
Despite opportunities and positivity, you choose to remain ignorant and inactive

Waiting on a film caked thick within cleaning stained windowsills
Anticipating the revelation that will cleanse and clarify distorted perspectives

Instead of taking panes out of eyes
Rather than removing personal biases and prejudices

(I'm out of rhymes)
I have run out of creative and artistic expression

Colourless you hid behind heavy lids
You concealed yourself, lacking individuality and vitality

Eating surface shit
Consuming shallow and superficial influences

Somewhere deep you swear respect exists
Deep down, you still claim to possess respect

(Exits upstage right)
Leaves the scene with a sense of superiority

Tradegy: indefinitely more down than a kiss
Tragedy inflicts deeper and lasting pain compared to a romantic encounter

The assumed and the actual are both a sad performance
Both what is believed and what is true are disappointing displays

An audience will answer if you question them correct
People will respond if you ask the right questions

You don't see the bloody entertainers you're trying to resurrect
You fail to recognize the harmful individuals you are attempting to revive

Not knowing you're looking is atonement cash or check?
Is ignorance an acceptable form of redemption?

Absolved and justified create an ego to protect
Being forgiven and justified leads to the creation of a protective ego

Center level center roar is an army is a form
Unity and strength in the center create a force resembling an army

Count your blessings, kill your poor
Recognize your good fortune while neglecting and oppressing the marginalized

Culture envy world over, respect drunk war sober
There is a global desire to attain other cultures, while respect is disregarded in the pursuit of conflict

I'll fight for no flag and battle all devices
I will not align myself with any specific group or ideology and will challenge all forms of manipulation

Old men divide soil spoils for us to toil indecisive
Powerful individuals divide and exploit resources, leaving us uncertain and hesitant

Over whose music's origins are righteous or damned
Debating whether the origins of different musical styles are morally superior or condemned

Or if one is the same can both be wrought with your hands
Questioning whether two contrasting things can both be created by human actions

We've wrought out all lands and brought bought life back to life
Through our actions, we have transformed and revived previously neglected territories

Only this time we'll go ahead and say the origins were white
This time, we will attribute the origins of something to white culture to claim superiority

Heads in the sand that kept us warm from the rhythms of the night
Ignoring and avoiding the vibrant and lively aspects of culture

You'd think history would give fair warning
One would expect history to provide clear lessons and guidance

But it doesn't make for good sales or stories
However, historical accuracy and truth do not appeal to commercial interests or entertaining narratives

And don't think we're done stealing the past
We are not finished appropriating and distorting history

Or telling it to you second-hand
Or relaying it to you in a diminished and distorted manner

While tipping the hour glass
And manipulating the passing of time

And tilting our hats one-third cockeyed
And adopting a slightly off-kilter and rebellious attitude

Now dance
Now embrace and celebrate

I remember when the beat moved itself
I recall a time when the rhythm was organic and natural

Through sacred trees and ceremonies
Through spiritual and meaningful rituals

A hapless hieroglyph soul-branded on the open spaces of consciousness
An unknowing symbol imprinted on the collective awareness

And we are all con-script scrawled across the middle canvas
We are all participants, marked and written in the center of the narrative

Draw fast - answer nothing
React quickly but provide no response

There's no question they've been here
There is no doubt of their presence

Glyph lock pick pockets patrolling the selling block for cheap/easy targets
Symbolic thieves searching for vulnerable and easily manipulated individuals to exploit

The dueling heretics of a new religion
The conflicting nonconformists of a novel belief system

Doodling death wish on a fluttery paper soul
Drawing aspirations of destruction on a fragile and transient essence

Draw fast
React quickly

Black canvas impervious to shades' shame
A dark backdrop that is unaffected by the disgrace of racial differences

Paint the world lovely with indecipherable song
Transform the world into a beautiful and mysterious composition

Plant the flag of the insane in land unsold
Establish the presence of unconventional ideas in unclaimed territory

Forego the envious and warring to play the unknown
Abandon the tendencies for rivalry and jealousy to explore unexplored territory

What is culture but the gift of dream
Culture is the manifestation of imagination and creativity

What is life but to sing
Life is meant to be a joyful and expressive experience

Sleep unseen
Remain unnoticed and hidden

By now you should've died twice
By this point, you should have experienced significant changes or transformations

We're not communicating one line at a time
We are not effectively exchanging information or ideas gradually

Or a version of a dying woman on my doorstep
Or a representation of someone in distress or in need of help

Fading fast the second time around
Diminishing rapidly upon a subsequent encounter

What's inside these sounds you mouth
What meaning or substance do you convey through your words and music?

Did you hear the call from across the ages
Did you perceive and respond to the timeless message?

The sea takes us back too quickly and I'm far from grounded
Time passes swiftly and I feel disconnected and adrift

Now's the time to sail before the last tree falls
It is imperative to take action before irreversible damage occurs

I'm seeing my mentors sage-less
I am witnessing my guides without their usual wisdom

Casting outside their realm
Venturing beyond their usual domain

Ex-spelling P. G. Concepts to conjure self
Rejecting conventional ideas to invoke personal identity

I'm seeing priests prostrate to prophecy
I observe religious leaders submitting themselves to predictions and forecasts

Praying in the wrong room
Engaging in religious practices in an inappropriate setting

Count your blessings and sell the difference
Acknowledge and appreciate what you have while also capitalizing on what sets you apart

I'm seeing indifferent souls in different cells
I witness individuals lacking concern or interest, isolated in separate realms

Spilling blood like wine
Causing harm and destruction without remorse

Just to know they've been here
Merely to leave a mark or be remembered

Hold your pitcher, kill your pour
Retain what you possess, even if it means sacrificing or harming others

Try to clip these wings, still we soar
Attempt to suppress our progress, yet we continue to thrive

Frantically flapping the faces of (not) our kids
Desperately trying to influence and shape the next generation

Heading south to sea too soon to say 'Stay - I've seen'
Traveling towards uncertainty without the ability to appeal for someone to remain by your side

Nothing but envy for the green
Only experiencing jealousy towards the prosperous and successful

War for the greed
Engaging in conflict and competition driven by ambition and avarice

Innumerable dead blessings and your poor peaceful resting
Countless missed opportunities and marginalized individuals finding solace in their untroubled state